The Saskatchewan Roughriders' brand is taking a beating

Once again, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are ignominiously associated with too many men.

The Canadian Football League announced late Thursday afternoon that the Roughriders had been fined $60,000 in addition to having $26,000-plus pared from their $5.1-million salary cap for 2016.

The punitive measures were announced after a three-day tempest regarding allegations that included media reports of the team paying and even housing unsigned, non-roster players.

“After a review of the findings, it has been determined that the Saskatchewan Roughriders were in violation of policies which prohibit practising with ineligible players, players participating in practice who are on the six-game injured list and having free agents practise with players who are under contract,” the league said in a media release.

Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge punctuated his statement by saying: “The recent conduct, behaviour and activities of the Saskatchewan Roughriders have compromised the reputation of the CFL.”

But no reputation has absorbed a greater hit than that of the Roughriders — the league’s flagship franchise.

The Roughriders, from president-CEO Craig Reynolds on down, take considerable pride in a brand that has become a cash cow. Their merchandise sales are the envy of some Canadian-based NHL teams. The football club’s fan base is without parallel. And, until September of 2014, the team’s performance was commensurate with its reputation.

However, the Roughriders have lost 27 of their last 33 meaningful games. That includes a 1-5 start to the 2016 campaign. If that isn’t ghastly enough, consider the recent off-field violations that have necessitated league intervention.

It was only last week when the CFL fined the Roughriders $15,000 for not adhering to the national/international ratio on defence for part of a July 16 home game against the B.C. Lions. Even with an additional American on the field at times, the Roughriders still permitted 40 points — including 30 during the second half.

Meanwhile, the Roughriders have scored a CFL-low nine offensive touchdowns. And now it seems that there were more extra players than extra points.

Considering the expanded “roster,” can we call this Inflategate?

Over to you, Craig Reynolds.

The Roughriders’ boss went to considerable lengths to woo Chris Jones and most of his coaching staff away from the Edmonton Eskimos after they won the 2015 Grey Cup championship. Jones was given the elongated title of head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations. He is also the defensive co-ordinator for a team that has allowed a league-high average of 35.7 points per game.

In terms of the organizational flow chart, Jones does not report to anyone but Reynolds, who must respond sternly and with detail.

The Roughriders are a community-owned team and one that should embrace transparency. Accordingly, the team should thoroughly and voluntarily disclose everything that occurred, with all due contrition.

After all, it isn’t just the Roughriders’ money that is being spent — no, wasted — here. The fans are the owners, the shareholders, and the Roughriders have recently been fined $75,000 under Jones’ watch.

Where did the fans’ money go? Why did this turn into such a mess? How was this allowed to occur before the league was prompted to investigate the matter “for several weeks” and ultimately dispense discipline that is well beyond the norm?

Keep in mind, too, that Jones was hired barely three months after Reynolds articulated some concerns about the administration of the football operations.

On Sept. 1, only one day after head coach Corey Chamblin and general manager/vice-president of football operations Brendan Taman were fired, Reynolds had this to say: “Being a general manager, there are lots of aspects to that role. There’s roster management, salary-cap management and overall leadership. Speaking quite frankly, we had concerns in some of those areas.”

If Reynolds had “concerns” back then, what could he possibly be thinking now?

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